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Congo Falls
Congo Falls (previously known as Amazon Falls) is a shoot-the-chute water ride located in the Action Zone of Kings Island. It is one of three water rides in the main park, along with ''White Water Canyon'' and Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown!. Unlike the other rides though, Congo Falls is guaranteed to get riders soaked, with the other rides being more likely to get riders mildly wet. The ride originally opened as Amazon Falls, but the name was changed in 2000 to fit with the Action Zone theme. According to Wikipedia, this change was made to promote their 1995 movie Congo. This may not be the case though, as the ride still uses this name despite Cedar Fair removing all Paramount themes from already existing rides. History Two years after White Water Canyon opened in 1985, the decision was made to make another water ride in the Adventure Village section of the park, now known as Action Zone. In 1988, Amazon Falls opened, and was notable for allowing guests to get soaked a second time by standing on the bridge at the exit, resulting in the splash caused by the ride boat reaching the bridge and further drenching guests. In 2000, the Adventure Village section was reformatted and renamed to the Paramount Action Zone, with the company name later being dropped after Cedar Fair acquired the park. To go along with the overall area theme of rides based on Paramount films, Amazon Falls became Congo Falls, presumably to reflect on the 1995 film Congo. However, it is questionable if this was the reason behind the name change, as Cedar Fair has not changed the name of the ride to remove any themes to the film, though this could be because there wasn't much of a theme to begin with, and the ride is still a generic shoot-the-chute ride. Theme and Ride Experience Theme There isn't much of a theme to the ride, but warning signs in the queue line and the loading station hint that the ride is themed around an African river safari. The boats don't seem to reflect on this too much, as they resemble basic wooden boats, with a pile of rocks in the front to emphasize the effect of the drop. Ride Experience Once the riders are seated, the ride begins by traveling up the lift hill. As the boat ascends the lift hill, riders can see a brief view of the parking lot, as well as the standing, but not operating, Timberwolf Amphitheatre. Once at the top of the lift hill, the boat turns around and approaches the main drop, which has two sloped inclines. The resulting splash is the highlight of the ride, drenching all riders, as well as guests standing on the exit bridge of the ride. The boats slowly make their way back to the loading station, but two fountains burst and spray water at the riders for one last attempt to get wet. Trivia * It's worth noting that this is the only ride that had a Paramount film theme that hasn't been renamed since Cedar Fair took over operations. * Unlike the other water rides in the main park, Congo Falls is guaranteed to get riders completely soaked. * Congo Falls, along with Top Gun and King Cobra, was one of the only rides that was not affected by the renovations of converting Adventure Village to Action Zone, save for its name change. Category:Action Zone Category:Water Rides Category:Thrill Rides Category:Current Attractions Category:Family Attractions Category:Outdoor Attractions